In the summer of 2013, Real Madrid broke transfer records to bring Gareth Bale to the Spanish capital. Since then, he has returned 101 goals in 218 appearances—an impressive strike rate for any forward.
Despite this, and helping Los Blancos to win four Champions League titles, the Welshman is out of favor with Madrid’s fans and players.
The plan was for the 29-year-old to take the role of megastar talisman in Cristiano Ronaldo’s absence, but that plan has not come to pass.
So how did Bale fail to step into the gap left by Cristiano Ronaldo and become Madrid’s main superstar?
Well, one could argue he was doomed to fail when ZInedine Zidane left. The Frenchman reportedly wanted to sell Bale and keep Ronaldo, but when club president Florentino Perez did the opposite, Zidane quit. So fans may blame him for the dynasty falling apart.
And his attitude has been questioned, because of comments he made after the Champions League final about needing game time, and through his unenthused goal celebrations and issues with his team. Spanish paper Marca have gone as far as to claim his attitude “borders on professional negligence.”
And it has been difficult for Bale to establish himself as the main man in the side given his injury record. He’s only played 58% of all possible games due to several injuries, so he can’t be relied upon 100% of the time.
With Zidane and Ronaldo gone, Bale has had the perfect chance to take the limelight, but instead the biggest rising star has been Vinicius Jr. Bale, it seems, is much happier being the supporting hero, rather than the talisman.
And let’s not rule out the fact that Real Madrid fans might be using Bale as a scapegoat for a poor season. The side have lost two recent Clasicos, they’ve lost to teams int he league they shouldn’t have and they’ve failed to score in 10 games this season. That’s very rare for Madrid—and far from Bale’s fault alone.
It seems that the 29-year-old is destined for a new challenge next season, while a Real Madrid side in transition search for their new savior.
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